Louisville precinct trying to shut down Brownsboro Road bar with wet/dry vote

Louisvillians who live in voting precinct N163, located close to Brownsboro Road, will be able to decide whether or not to make it a dry precinct this November.

This decision would affect multiple businesses – most notably Virtue Bar and Lounge, which relocated to a nearly 5,000-square-foot building in the 1900 block of Brownsboro about a year ago.

But impacting Virtue Bar is the point of the measure, some residents say.

A group of neighbors both inside and outside the precinct have become "concerned about the problems associated with, in particular, the Virtue establishment," said Alison Johnson, the president of the Clifton Heights Community Council, who spoke with The Courier Journal on behalf of some of the residents who had "safety concerns."

After calling LMPD and the Louisville Alcoholic Beverage Control on the business multiple times, some neighbors resorted to another idea: voting to make the entire precinct dry. If the measure passes, it would force Virtue Bar to stop selling alcohol.

This would "greatly, greatly impact the business," said bar owner Toney Frank, who added that about 40% of its sales come from alcohol.

Making the entire precinct dry is not the right approach to the issues the neighborhood is facing, said Councilman Jecorey Arthur, who represents the district where the bar is located. He believes attaching the neighborhood's problems with the establishment is "somewhat misplaced" – especially because most of the issues he's heard of from residents have occurred outside Virtue Bar itself.

Councilmen disagree with effort to shut down Virtue Bar

Virtue Bar is a popular restaurant, nightclub and hookah lounge that used to be located in Old Louisville.

“Our business model had just outgrown that space," Frank said. "We started to look for a space that was more commercialized to be a good neighbor."

Since last August, Virtue Bar has taken up residence in a strip mall next to a Family Dollar, a grocery store and a Papa Johns's Pizza between Clifton and Clifton Heights. The bar-restaurant is located right on the edge of Metro Council District 4, represented by Arthur. It also borders District 9, represented by Councilman Andrew Owen.

Some residents believe Virtue Bar's presence has caused crime and other nuisance behavior to increase.

"We had complaints from the residents that lived there of noise until 4 a.m. and I mean, loud noises," Johnson said.

Virtue Bar closes at midnight on weeknights and at 2 a.m. on weekends. At 1:45 a.m., the lights go up and patrons are encouraged to begin leaving the premises, Frank said. He also has invited LMPD officers to be present at closing time to ensure people leave safely.

Johnson said she has heard reports of cars racing up and down nearby residential streets, people urinating in yards, an increase in litter and even gunshots.

They have an "extremely loud and boisterous crowd," she said. "That kind of establishment with that kind of clientele really doesn't fit in our neighborhood."

The bar is next to residential areas with families and children, she said, and they are worried about the safety of neighbors. Johnson said she has noticed an "unusual amount" of houses for sale in the area.

The reports aren't just from District 4 residents, either.

"District 9 residents have called our office over the past year with complaints about loud music, illegal parking, street racing, engine revving and, on occasion, gunshots in the area of the Virtue Bar," Owen said.

Frank said he has no reason to believe the people urinating in the yards or causing other issues are patrons of his business, though.

"There are a lot of homeless people who walk up and down Brownsboro Road. To say that (the people urinating) were specifically coming from Virtue ... I can't confirm that.

"How is all the problems that are going on in the neighborhood geared toward us? What about the homelessness problem that is going on at noon? Or when I come in at 8 a.m. and have to kick them off my patio? It's not just a Virtue problem, it's a society problem. It's an issue across the city and in cities across the country. We have a problem that needs to be addressed across the board."

He said his bar provides about 30 jobs for the community, and it being shut down would force people to find work elsewhere. Instead, he has concerns that the connection made between the violence and Virtue Bar, which he describes as an "urban, Black-owned business," has a racial bias.

"I'm OK with criticism, but I'm not OK with racism," he said.

Some of the language surrounding the issue also has raised concerns with Arthur, too.

"Anyone who says, 'Oh, well, they draw in, you know, 'that type of crowd' or 'those types of people…' I think it's really a dog whistle with racial undertones and I can't support that," he said.

But Johnson said she wasn't aware of patrons of specific races going to Virtue Bar.

"From what I hear from people, there's not a racial bias," she said. "It's more that (the patrons) are uncontrolled and they're violent."

There have been nine reported crimes around the location in the last year with most cases being some kind of assault or theft, according to LMPD data.

Prior to Virtue Bar, a restaurant called Trifecta was in the building. It opened in April 2021, but by May 2022, it had closed. In the time Trifecta was in the same residence, there were four reported crimes including vandalism, vehicle theft and larceny.

The main complaints Arthur has heard – like cars revving their engines and shots being fired – have happened outside.

"If it happened in the venue, I would say, 'OK, this venue is directly a platform for that type of behavior,' but it's happening outside of the venue," Arthur said. "It's hard for me to blame the venue when really we need to hold the people accountable who are behaving that way, as opposed to the establishment that's simply just trying to make a living and trying to have an environment for people to come to."

Arthur said he does not believe making the entire precinct dry is the solution to the neighborhood's issues.

"I think that is the wrong approach. You shouldn't be trying to shut people down, especially when they're trying to reach out to us and find some sort of solution to the issues we're having."

Owen agreed.

"When I first heard about the ballot measure idea at a Clifton Height Community Council meeting earlier this year, I told those in attendance that while I understood their frustration with the behavior of some of the Virtue clientele, I was not in favor of this approach and would not support it."

Attempts to remedy issues

Over the past several months, Frank said, he has been working to find solutions to these issues with the neighbors.

He's hosted and attended community meetings, but he said they have felt like "a bash session instead of a solution-oriented meeting."

"I'm just trying to find solutions and working with communities, not against, has always been my motto," he said. "I have even given out my personal cell and business cards and said, 'Hey, give me a call. Let's talk about it. If something's going on, let me know.' I haven't tried to turn a blind eye to any complaint."

Frank has also implemented new policies within the bar, bought signage and purchased a police-grade security camera, which costs him $1,400 a month. This is in addition to his other security cameras and the 10 or 11 security guards who work at Virtue Bar, Frank said. There is about one security guard per 30 patrons, rather than the recommended standard of one security guard per 50 people, he said. He also has the parking lot cleaned most mornings.

Maj. Jason Grissom and Brad Silveria, the director of the ABC, have also been involved in these issues.

"Based on conversations with Major Grissom, Director Silveria and fewer complaints to our office recently, I do believe we have made some incremental progress," Owen said.

Johnson also acknowledged that conditions have improved, especially with the new camera and police presence. She also heard that cars blocking people's driveways have been towed. But, there is still trash in people's yards and concern about the clientele, she said.

Arthur was also under the impression that conditions were improving, which is why he was surprised to hear about the ballot measure.

"To my understanding, I thought things had calmed down, but then I heard about their petition and it was clear that from their perspective, things hadn't calmed down or at least it wasn't enough for them, so they wanted to take matters into their own hands. I didn't even know people could do this until I heard about the petition."

But they can under state law, said Erran Huber, the director of media communications at the Jefferson County Clerk's office.

The statute (KRS 242.020) requires a petition to contain the signatures of qualified voters equal to 25% "of the votes cast in the territory at the last preceding general election,'" Huber said.

Enough neighbors signed the petition, so on Nov. 7, N163 precinct voters will answer yes or no to the question, "Are you in favor of the sale of alcoholic beverages in Jefferson County precinct N163?"

If over half the voters select "no" then the district would go dry 60 days "from the date of the entry of the certificate of the county board of election commissioners in the order book of the county/judge executive," according to KRS 242.19.

This would strip both Virtue Bar and Family Dollar of the ability to sell alcohol. Marathon Liquor has also applied to open a liquor store in an open building next to the bar. While some of its applications have already been approved by the city, the company is still waiting for approval for the others. But if the measure passes, the owners would be unable to operate a liquor store in that location.

In the meantime, Frank said he is ready to "fight tooth and nail" for his business. He also encourages members of the community to come to, "Give us a shot. Stop in and visit, see for yourselves.”

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @ellie_mccrary.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville's Clifton neighborhood targets bar with alcohol sales vote